Quadriga travels throughout California to visit project sites and sometimes even Phoenix, Arizona. By visiting nurseries local to the project, we catalog readily available plants in the area. This Phoenix nursery specializes in cacti and desert-hardy plants. The pictured, Echinocactus grusonii, commonly known as the Golden Barrel Cactus, is loving the 70-degree winter sunshine.

December 2018

Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning, Inc. is seeking to expand our Santa Rosa Studio. We are looking for a design professional who is passionate about design, interested in our profession and looking for a place to grow.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including opportunities for professional development.

Water conservation and finding the right plant for the right place is at the heart of what we do here at Quadriga. This month we were fortunate to learn from Village Nurseries and Mountain States Nursery about low water and heat-tolerant alternatives to some of the more moderate water use plants we love. One interesting alternative we learned about from Village was Sporobolus wrightii (Giant Sacaton) which is a great substitute for the more invasive Cortaderia (pampas grass). This grass received high ratings for its appearance during its lowest irrigation treatment during the 2015-2017 UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials.

Two years in and our rain water garden has really grown in at Wright Charter School! Native sedges, yarrow, penstemon, and red bud have tripled in size around a swale which directs rain water back into the earth, rather than a storm drain. This educational feature, along with a rain water collection tank, was designed to smartly use storm water and help educate children about the importance of wise water use in our dry California climate.

October 9, 2018

Who needs 2 acres of high-water turf when you can have a low-water, native, and (let’s face it) more interesting grassland? Napa Health and Human Services’ revamped frontage landscape is nearing completion and the planting is really taking off!

As stewards of the land we try to be aware of products that are harmful to the environment. Ipe is a popular deck material but it’s contribution to deforestation has us investigating these alternative products: Accoya, Moso Bamboo, and Black Locust. We hope to use one of these environmentally sensitive products for WEST, a mixed-use housing project we are working on in West Sacramento.

Bill Mastick has retired, completing a period of transition that began in 2015. We will miss his exuberant laugh, his vast vocabulary, his leadership and, most importantly, his dog Carl. We are excited to see what he will do next! Over the past three years, management and leadership responsibilities have been assumed by Principals Christine Talbot and John Suesens. They will continue to guide Quadriga’s growth, development and relationships in the years to come. Congratulations, Bill!